


How They Shine

by InTheArmsofaThief



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Neil Gaiman - Freeform, Stardust fusion AU, Stiles is a Star, casually rejecting cannon character deaths, like up in the sky star
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 16:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1475992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InTheArmsofaThief/pseuds/InTheArmsofaThief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And then Derek was just there, telling him he didn’t shine anymore, and he had no idea what the word meant to Stiles, but god was it true.</p><p>He’s not even sure if he could anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How They Shine

**Author's Note:**

> I read this fic ([all the stars are coming out tonight](http://archiveofourown.org/works/437190)) that had Stiles be a star in this same fashion and all I could think was: yes, I want more of that. So I wrote my own. Essentially that's how all of my stories start. It's just a little ficlet but I hope you like it.

Derek didn’t notice how much Stiles used to smile, how bright he seemed to be back at the beginning, until it was almost as if he started to fade. They all did, really, but there was always something about Stiles, the glow of his cheeks, the shine of his eyes, the brightness of his laugh that made everything around him just a little bit lighter, even with his best friend turning into a werewolf and fighting off a kanima. But then Stiles showed up to the last fight against Gerard with a bruised face and busted lip and his eyes seemed duller. And then the sacrifices started happening, and Stiles was angry all the time, more afraid than he had ever been when it was Derek threatening him. And then Stiles sacrificed himself and while Scott and Allison always seemed to find a way to thrive, Stiles almost began to lose his color, like someone turned down the saturation on Photoshop. And then the Nogitsune…

Derek wasn’t sure what made him say it, but they were hanging out taking a break from rebuilding the house. Allison and Lydia were pulling out the cooler of soda while Scott, Kira, and Isaac chased each other with water guns. Stiles was sitting on the grass beside him, lathering up another layer of sunscreen. Light seemed to sink into his skin like a black hole. He seemed in the shade even as he bathed in the sun.

“You used to shine,” Derek said. Stiles froze, his hand stilling on his slowly burning skin for a moment before continuing to rub the lotion in.

“I was possessed by an evil spirit, Derek. I used to be a lot of things.”

If at all possible, Stiles seemed to get darker, duller, more muted. And Derek suddenly realized he wanted Stiles to smile, wanted Stiles to have those honey-gold eyes shine with mirth instead of the lackluster looks he gives everyone. Derek wanted to be the one to make Stiles shine the way he used to.

Derek’s heart blipped at the thought. He caught Scott’s eye as the young alpha looked over at the sound. Derek looked away, thinking over the way his heart reacted to the thought of Stiles, all those months ago, smiling, joking even under duress, less bitter, less hurt, less broken. His heart blipped again at the thought of making Stiles smile that way again.

 _Oh_ , he thought.

What Derek didn’t know was the part of Stiles the younger man had hid away since his mother died. Scott didn’t know either. Nobody but Stiles's father knew the part of him that used to glow so bright they had to keep the nursery in the basement to prevent the neighbors from seeing the light at night. Nobody except maybe Deaton’s old books and perhaps the Hale’s lost library knew about the wall that once surrounded Beacon County. The wall that marked the land of magic. The wall that didn’t exist anymore except the sparse ruins that pop up every once in a while in the woods. The wall Stiles knew the exact path of because he had to be cautious to never cross that line.

Stiles grew up so happy. He was home schooled until he was twelve because it took him forever to switch his sleeping habits from the natural nocturnal to the human diurnal. Although being a teenager makes a pretty decent excuse for staying up until 3am.

He missed his mom, though. His mom, who would take him out to the middle of the woods, opposite from Hale Land, he knows now, with a picnic blanket and some snacks and she would tell him the stories of her people. She would show him the constellations and the name of the stars, the ones the humans gave them and the ones they called themselves. She would give him a sly little smirk and point to her own star and told him to “Watch this.” She would glow, so bright, and her counterpart in the sky would shine that much brighter. It was always amusing to her to find the news reports about it in the upcoming days.

She created an almanac for him that sat in the back of his closet. It was a gorgeous illuminated manuscript. Claudia enjoyed old things. She had been watching humans make things for years. She was always excited about making things herself, now that she had the chance. She had been knocked down to Earth almost a hundred years before Stiles was born.

But she died. And it would be another thousand years before the light from her star would disappear forever from the sky, but Stiles would look at her star and see how much duller it ever was.

Stiles never tried to find his own star anymore.

After his mother died, Stiles didn’t quite glow anymore. But his father found ways to make him feel better. He was able to control himself better. He got to go to school for the first time. He met Scott and they became best friends. The Sheriff supported the friendship because Stiles’s cheeks were rosier and his eyes were brighter now that he had someone to laugh with. He never quite glowed anymore, but John hoped that was due to control rather than losing Claudia.

It was a little of both, Stiles thought.

But then things changed. His friend changed, became a creature of the moon. And Stiles lost himself, for a while. Trapped in his own body. The Nogitsune could control that, but he couldn’t control his shine. The Nogitsune thought it knew everything, but it hadn’t known that Stiles was more than just human. It was the only reason Stiles was able to hold it off for so long, stay awake all night and then all day and then all night again.

But now all he was anymore was tired. Even with the peace and everybody safe and laughing with his friends, he never felt like he was laughing anymore. It’s been over an entire semester of everything being okay, and yet he still wasn’t. It was the summer, and he still couldn’t shake the bone deep exhaustion the possession had left him with.

And then Derek was just there, telling him he didn’t shine anymore, and he had no idea what the word meant to Stiles, but god was it true.

He’s not even sure if he could anymore.

But then there was Derek, and it was confusing. Because Derek was making lame jokes, dead face. Derek helped Scott plan pack meetings of movies and pizza. Derek bumped shoulders with him and offered him small smiles that had Stiles’s head reeling because they were so private and honest. Derek gave him lacrosse pointers and helped train him for track. Derek, who would stay up all night with him when Stiles still couldn’t sleep without nightmares. Derek, who was rebuilding his house and giving Lydia decorating control and Allison an archery field and a training ground in the basement and a room for Isaac and the twins each. Derek, who had so much reason to be broken and was yet living.

Derek, who found him in the woods one night, two in the morning, staring up at the stars.

“What’s keeping you up tonight?” Derek asked, sitting down next to him.

“I can never sleep at night,” he looked over at Derek with a half laugh. “I’m like a cat, I’d rather curl up in a nice patch of sun.”

Derek hummed and bumped his foot against Stiles’s. Summer was almost over and nothing bad was even on the horizon, and these little touches were becoming normal. It was nice.

“You’re looking better,” Derek said. “Healthier.”

Stiles had always worried about his father’s health after his mother died. His almanac had some lore written, that the heart of a star would give immortality, and John had had Claudia’s heart. But she was gone, and what did that mean for his dad? Stiles had worried that his love wasn’t enough. So, he always worried about his father’s health. He hadn’t really paid too much attention to his own.

“Thanks, I guess.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Derek asked what he was looking at.

“The stars,” Stiles said. “That one,” he pointed to his mother’s fading light, but wouldn’t tell Derek that.

“That’s the Delta star of Sagittarius’s crown.”

“I know,” Stiles said.

Derek looked over and watched Stiles watching the stars. His skin seemed more luminescent, bathed in the moonlight, than he had seen it all summer during the day. The stars shined in the kid’s large eyes. He really did look better. When Stiles looked over and caught him staring, Derek smiled softly. He caught the way Stiles’s heart stuttered before the kid smiled in return. The patch of light they were in seemed that much brighter when Stiles smiled.

It was a week later that they spoke about the stars. It was their one last hurrah before school started up again and the pack took a trip a few hours south to the beach Stiles insisted was the best. After a day of swimming and splashing each other, Derek noticed the way the moles Stiles had seemed to cluster in true to form constellations. Sagittarius itself speckled his back.

“It’s like you belong up in the sky with them,” Derek had joked when he pointed it out to Stiles. And just like that, the way Stiles just seemed to radiate contentment disappeared. Nobody else noticed. Lydia and Aiden were playing chicken against Ethan and Allison while Scott refereed. Isaac and Kira were busy setting up the bonfire for later.   It was just him and Stiles, building a sandcastle, complete with moat and stone decorations, and Derek hadn’t been able to look away from a shirtless Stiles.

“Did I say something wrong?” Derek asked.

Stiles snapped his head up with a frown. Sure, Derek wasn’t usually the type to ask other’s opinions on his own actions, but he didn’t think the question deserved that much shock from the teen. “No, Derek. Stop looking like I kicked your puppy,” Stiles tried to laugh, but Derek could tell. He wasn’t quite sure what it is, but there was always _something_ about Stiles when he was happy.

“You’re upset, though,” Derek persisted.

Stiles slouched and rubbed a hand over his face. “You reminded me of my mom, is all,” he said with a wry grin. “She taught me all about the stars.”

Derek looked up to the sky. There was still plenty of day left, but some of the stars were peeking through the bright blue blanket above. “My mom always said that the stars were important,” Derek told him. “That while the moon was our mother, and pulled the tide and pulled the wolf, it was the stars that watched over us. The sun was the star that gave us our humanity on the days of the full moon, and the stars however many light-years away that kept us sane in the night, with their distant warmth.” He looked back over to Stiles. The other boy was looking at him with such reverent confusion, as if Derek were a puzzle he wasn’t sure if there was an answer to, but found the riddle itself beautiful. Derek had to look away, his cheeks flushing. The look in his eye was too intense.

After a moment, he looked over again. Stiles was back to packing sand, a faint smile on his lips that seemed to light up his eyes and the rest of him. When Stiles felt Derek’s gaze on him, he looked up and sat back on his heels to tell the wolf this story.

“My mom,” Stiles started, smiled fondly, breathed deeply, and started over. “My mom used to take me out at night and tell me the stories of all the stars. She told me that people watched the stars and contemplated the vastness of the universe, but the stars watched back and contemplated the vastness of people’s love.” Stiles shook his head and scooped up some sand, playing with it between his hands. “Humans, werewolves, what have you,” he gave a cursory nod over to the rest of the pack, “emotions run so deep and are so complex. She always said that people were something just as vast to get lost wondering about, feel something profound when you looked at them.”

“Our mom’s probably would have liked each other,” Derek said after a moment.

Stiles grinned, and when he did the world lit up with him. “Yeah, I think they would.”

All night long, even as the sun set and the fire and the moon and the stars reflecting off the black ocean were the only lights to go by, Stiles always seemed to be bathed in the moonlight.

Stiles felt lighter. After talking about his mom, about stars, even in a roundabout way. His dad knew it all already, and talking about her was difficult so Stiles never really had a chance to. But even just the half confession he made to Derek, it made Stiles feel brighter than he had in a long time.

But then it started to be other things. Like, sometimes if Stiles stayed late after school, and none of the other pack had to, Derek would pick him up, because his Jeep had crapped out that summer for good, and then Derek would pull through Arby’s for curly fries and milk shakes. Or, when they trained for track and Derek would keep pace with Stiles, upping speed incrementally for Stiles to match until Stiles was a whole 4 seconds faster than his last meet, then Derek celebrated by tackling him to the ground and pouring a bottle of water on his face. Or the way he would just show up at the house and _use the front door_ and they’d make mac & cheese and watch Marvel movies. And Derek would laugh. And Derek would smile. And Derek would touch him so casually, protective and warm and comfortable.

And Stiles started to wipe the palms of his hands on his jeans because they would sweat when they watched movies. And Stiles started to duck his head when Derek smiled because it made heat curl low inside him. And Stiles started to blush when Derek gave him those quiet smiles because they made Derek look so… beautiful. Whole and unbroken almost, in a way Stiles had never seen before. And it made Stiles’s heart swell because _he_ was the one that made Derek smile that way. And oh. _Oh_.

And Stiles was having trouble for the first time in over six years controlling his glow.

It wasn’t noticeable, not really, not yet. Not to anybody who didn’t _know_. His dad asked him with a smirk what got him so happy and Stiles blushed. It was obviously Derek, from how much time they were spending together now. His dad didn’t really need to ask and Stiles didn’t really need to answer, but he did anyway, because he didn’t know what to do.

“What if he notices, dad?” Stiles asked, afraid.

His dad walked over and put a firm grip on his shoulder, shaking it a little in good humor, a comfort. “I don’t really think Derek Hale of all people is going to care, or do anything to hurt you.”

“Yeah, but.”

“You know how they say you want to find someone who brings out the best in you,” his dad said with a smile and a distant look. Stiles knew he was thinking of his late wife.

“Yeah.”

“Well, what do stars do best?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. It was something his mother had said a million times. It was cheesy and a little sentimental, but coming from his dad it just sounded dorky.

“Shine.”

“And what does Derek make you do?”

Stiles blinked and then looked up at this father.

“He brings the best out of you,” the Sheriff answered for him. “It’s up to you, if you want to tell him. But if you do, just know I support you. Kay, kiddo?”

Stiles hugged his father, reveling in the embrace he got in return. “Thanks dad.”

John laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Just cool it kid, before I have to break out the sun glasses.”

Stiles pulled back and looked down. His shine was like Disney Hercules when he’s about join Mount Olympus. Stiles turned it down to everyday Herc with a chuckled. It felt good, though. To shine.

But maybe Stiles didn’t turn it down enough, or wasn’t being as careful or in control as he had thought. Sure, Derek seemed to be looking at him more deeply than before, as if trying to figure out just _what_ was different, but Stiles was confident he hadn’t figured it out. His shine wasn’t like a phosphorus glow, it didn’t seem abnormal.  

But someone had taken notice. And someone had figured it out. And someone had known what benefits there were to having a star. Having a star’s heart.

He woke up cold, in a dark room and he could just make out the space around him from his own source of light, but it faded quickly once he was awake enough to realize he was captured. Then he was alone, in pitch blackness, and he was going to admit, he was afraid. Stiles called out until his throat was hoarse, but no one answered. It was hours later that someone opened the door. They turned on a light switch and smiled warmly at him. Under other circumstances, Stiles would have pegged the woman to be a nice old lady. A part of her still seemed it despite the whole capture thing and blood sword in her hand.

“Come on, poppet. Don’t look so sad. You still have hope, right?” she asked. “One of your little dogs might come and save you?”

She sounded too genuine, encouraging Stiles to think of his pack and his rescue that made Stiles wonder what kind of kidnapper cared how their victim felt.

Then there was a howl in the distance, one Stiles instantly recognized as Derek’s, and his heart swelled.

“Right on schedule,” the old lady smirked, bringing the blood sword up to Stiles’s chest. It was then Stiles noticed just how brightly he was shining. All because it was Derek there to save him. All because of Derek.

“Shit,” Stiles muttered, trying to control himself, trying to make it fade, trick the witch into thinking he wasn’t still glowing on the inside despite his faded outward appearance, but it wasn’t enough.

The sword cut through his shirts like butter, the tip clawing into his flesh. A few drips of blood.

The howling was so close but it wasn’t getting any closer.

“Mountain ash,” the witch responded as if hearing his thoughts. “None of your pets can get through.” But then there was a crash and the witch pulled back. “How..?” she asked nobody.

“Obviously you're not paying close enough attention. I have friends who are plenty human.”

Not a second later Derek came crashing through the door, Allison on his heels. There was sounds of fighting behind them so Stiles could only assume the witch had set traps.

“Stiles!” Derek yelled. The wolf lunged forward, only to be knocked back by a wave of the witch’s hand. But she was too slow. Derek was knocked away, but Allison had drawn her bow for just such an opening. The tip of her arrow pierced right in the witch’s chest.

The witch fell, aging before their eyes. Her borrowed life was trying to heal her, but she had used up too much of it already. Derek was already by his side, tearing through the rope around his wrists.

“Stiles,” Derek said again, wrapping his arms around him, touching the puncture on his chest. Stiles pushed his hand aside so he could hug Derek better, burrowing his face into Derek’s neck.

The witch turned to ash and the fighting upstairs stopped. “Was she a vampire?” Allison asked.

Stiles just shook his head. “A witch living on stolen time. She was far too old to heal herself without another.”

“Another what?” Scott asked from the doorway, frowning.

Stiles shook his head and forced himself to let go of Derek and stand. “Another of what she needed me for.”

He ignored all their prodding and refused to tell them. “It’s fine. It’s nothing. No one else is going to come for me, witches work alone and don’t like sharing. I doubt she told anyone.”

“Told anyone what.”

“Exactly.”

They talked in circles until Stiles was home and his dad asked them to stay away, just for a bit. He thanked his dad with a hug and headed upstairs. Which, of course, was where Derek was sitting on his bed.

“Am I going to have to call my dad up here?” Stiles threatened. It was one in the afternoon and Stiles just wanted to sleep.

Derek shrugged. “You just, you don’t look okay.”

Stiles frowned. He was all “swimming through the vortex in Hades” Herc at the moment. “I’m okay,” he insisted.

“Are you going to tell anyone why that woman took you?”

Stiles bit his lip and kicked off his shoes. “I don’t know.”

Derek sighed from his bed. “I just want to be able to protect you.”

Stiles knew his heart was swelling, hearing those words from Derek. “Well, you did.” Their eyes caught and Stiles’s breath hitched. Derek was watching him like something precious. “Derek.”

The older man stood, walking forward slowly as if Stiles were a timid animal. “Stiles,” he said when they were toe to toe. Stiles swallowed, his mouth going dry. Derek reached a hand up and traced the still healing cut on his chest. “She was trying to cut your heart out,” Derek whispered. “What did she need your heart for?”

Stiles leaned forward into the space between them. Stiles knew the story of Yvaine. She was a good friend of his mother. Yvaine had fallen a century and a half ago in a land of magic surrounded by a wall much like Beacon County. Yvaine had almost fallen victim to a witch who wanted to eat her heart. But in the end, she was safe and in love and she and her husband lived for generations beyond a normal lifespan before joining the stars back in the sky.

And Stiles knew that although he had never fallen from the sky, he had fallen for Derek.

“She wanted to live forever,” Stiles whispered. “But I think, even if she had my heart, it wouldn’t work. Because it belongs to you.”

Their lips were barely an inch apart, but Stiles wasn’t going to be the one to close that gap. They breathed each other in.

“You’re so fucking cheesy,” Derek whispered. Stiles could feel Derek’s smile as the wolf kissed him. Stiles grinned into the kiss, making the act difficult, but neither cared. And Stiles shined, because this was real. This was Derek.

And god, he hadn’t felt so alive since before the nogitsune. Since before the kanima or even Scott being bit. He hadn’t felt so alive, and happy and yeah. And yeah.

Derek pulled back and blinked. “Wow.” Stiles blushed as Derek blinked a few more times. “I am definitely _not_ imagining that.” Derek trailed his fingers over Stiles’s skin, down his neck, his arms and hands, back to his lips. Stiles knew he was glowing. “What…?” he began, unsure how to even phrase his question.

“My mother was a star.” It was a rush how easily that was to say. He’s never exactly _told_ anybody before. His father always knew.

“Like in..?” Derek pointed upwards. Stiles just nodded. Derek leaned in a placed a kiss upon the mole on his neck. “And you’re shinning,” he said with wonder.

“It’s what stars do best,” Stiles said with a laughing bubbling out of him.

Derek grabbed either side of Stiles’s face and kissed him thoroughly. It was deeper, more passionate, kissing through the smiles until they melted into each other. And everything around them was bright light.

It was a month later that Stiles came running into Derek’s mostly finished house with a laugh falling out of his mouth. “Oh my god!” he called, panting and gripping his knees. “Is your ringtone for me really Coldplay’s _Yellow_?”

Derek rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Stupid Scott. “No.”

“Oh my god, it is!” Stiles’s glow began to grow as he laughed. He started to sing off key. “Look at the staaaaaars. Look how they shiiiinnne for yooouuuuuuuuuuuu.”

Derek tackled him, carefully pinning Stiles’s arms to his side. He kissed the lyrics right off Stiles’s lips. “Yeah, well, you do. Don’t you?”

Stiles hummed, pulling his arms away from Derek’s grips and wrapping them around his boyfriend’s neck. “Yeah,” he said, kissing Derek softly.

“I love the way you shine,” Derek whispered against his lips. He kissed Stiles back and pulled away to look him square in the eye.   “I love _you_.”

The light from Stiles was near blinding.

“I love you, too.”

And Stiles thought one day he could see himself using the Babylon Candle in the back of his closet in the box with his almanac to bring Derek to the stars. One day. After some very long lives.

**Author's Note:**

> In my head Stiles can't leave Beacon County, which is pretty large and that's why he insisted on a certain beach because it was within his land of magic. But it's a big enough area that Stiles doesn't feel trapped. I mean, consider the area of Beacon County the same size as the kingdom inside the Wall of Stardust. It's a large hunk of land, and part of it stretches through to other areas, but all of Beacon County is within it so Stiles knows where he keeps safe.
> 
> I also figured that mountain ash doesn't work on Stiles because it's designed to ward off evil, but essentially covers all creatures, but because Stiles is literally made of light, he's considered pure and therefore not something needed to be warded away. Also he can use it because his 'spark' is his starlight.
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> [FIND ME ON TUMBLR](http://www.inthearmsofathief.tumblr.com)
> 
> Also! I'm made a webseries about werewolves! [The Werewolf Diaries](http://www.youtube.com/c/amyberserk)


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